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The year of the carpet?
At BTME in January there appeared a new stand: A real living hybrid sports pitch together with a collection of faces new and old to our industry – the idverde-Mixto stand. The name idverde may be new to some in our profession but the reality is that over the last four years this previously unknown brand has grown to be the largest green services provider in Europe…and by some considerable margin. In the UK alone the company employs some 2,500 fulltime groundsmen gardeners and other “green” professionals.
In January, idverde became the exclusive UK distributor of the Mixto hybrid grass sports field system. idverde is the distributor for Mixto in both UK and France. “It would be easy for me to focus on the increasing use of the Mixto system by top professional clubs such as Real Madrid, Nice and most recently Zenit, St Petersburg ahead of the FIFA World Cup,” said Nick Temple-Heald, of idverde. “However, that is not the only attraction for idverde. After its many years of testing and development, Mixto can now offer
After its many years of testing… Mixto can now offer ‘Premiership Quality Surfaces’, virtually year-round, at a cost accessible to lower league and amateur clubs, educational establishments and community facilities. 10 | Turf Matters | May-June 2018
‘Premiership Quality Surfaces’, virtually year-round, at a cost accessible to lower league and amateur clubs, educational establishments and community facilities. In other words idverde’s customer base across Europe. We have also seen great interest in the product from golf course managers and cricket groundsmen and are working on a number of initial installations.” idverde has not underestimated the importance of top notch experience and talent in our industry. In the last few months it has recruited Sébastien Ranson to head its growing sports field activity. Sébastien is an internationally renowned sports surface specialist and agronomist, with over 20 years’ experience at the highest level. In 2015 he was appointed by UEFA as principle grounds consultant to oversee the quality of all playing surfaces for the 2016 European Championships. idverde has also recruited
Steve Tingley, as its Operations Manager. Steve, former groundsman at Wembley Stadium, is a very experienced and respected operator in the UK. “I had been following the development of the Mixto hybrid grass system for a number of years and I have been particularly impressed by the testing and development work carried out by idverde in France. When the opportunity arose to work with idverde and Mixto, I jumped at the chance,” said Sebastien. Following launch of the idverde-Mixto partnership in the UK, interest has been high. The company is already taking on more employees and is speaking to contractors with a view to also becoming Mixto accredited installers, to the company’s exacting standards. So who knows, as the Chinese New Year was ushered in around the time of BTME, perhaps it should really have been named the Year of the Carpet.